In July this year I tried to make my database in my research about the Swedish born soldiers to be more complete. In this case to add photographs of their final resting places, their headstones and the names on the memorials, where those Swedes who doesn’t have a known grave, are commemorated.
This is the story about the third soldier I visited during my tour.
Oscar Osk
In the Canadian archives there are attestation papers which describes a soldier who, according to the papers, was born i Sweden. He stated his name was Oscar Osk.
The surname Osk is probably not Osk, as I haven’t found any with that surname in the Swedish archives. The surname Osk can be Åsk or Ask, and I have found quite many with that surname in the archives. It can also be a shorter version for Oscarsson. I have also find an individual with the name Oscar Ask, but with no connection to Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada, or other areas in Canada or North America.
Oscar Osk stated that he was born in “Scona”, which probably is the landscape of Skåne in the southern part of Sweden. It is very unusual to state the landscape as the place of birth, most of the Swedes stated their home village, but also very often one of the larger cities in Sweden, such as Stockholm or Gothenburg, or larger cities close to their place of birth.
There are not many individuals in Sweden with the name Oscar born on the date he stated. I have of course tried different combinations, but still no luck.
One interesting, specific, information in the papers of Oscar Osk is the name and the address of his “father”, Ola Martensson. Martensson is probably Mårtensson, but it can also be Martinsson. The address is also stated to be Ystadsgatan 11 in Malmö.
Someone have found information which connects these two individuals.
I have found some individuals with names like Ola Mårtensson, who actually have lived on Ystadsgatan in Malmö at that time, but not with any connection to any individual called Oskar or any individual born in 1890 or similar.
I have also tried other combinations of surnames, as the surname Mårtensson can be a surname for someone who had a father called Mårten with the surname Persson, and mostly used the surname Persson, like rest of the family, but maybe later used Mårtensson for some reason.
Who was this Oscar Osk?
Oscar Osk fought for the 28th Infantry battalion in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces, when he was wounded in action on August 21st, 1917, and he later died of wounds on August 24th, 1917.
Oscar is today buried Barlin Communal Cemetery Extension in the region of Pas de Calais, in France.
Even if I haven’t been able to confirm him in the Swedish church books I visited him during the tour, and took a photo of his final resting place.
I have a few soldier in my database that I haven’t been able to confirm in the Swedish archives, but I hope I will one day find some more clues to finally solve these cases, as it would be very nice to find out who they were, and how they ended up where they are today.
I have Swedish born individuals in my database that stated that they were born in another country than Sweden, even if I later found out their correct place of birth, in Sweden. Either they were too young when they emigrated to remember, maybe the family left their heritage in their new country, or maybe they didn’t want to state that they were from Sweden, for different reasons.
I have also found individuals that stated they were born in Sweden, but born in another country, for any reason. We have to understand the situation back in the actual period, I am sure there were reasons to state false information.
If any in Canada should find out any information about Oscar Osk, it would be great.
We will remember them.